Otouto
by Talon skydragon
Summary: Brotherhood. Grown up with a skewed sense of the word and of family overall, it means nothing to Inuyasha. Until one rainy night, when he crosses the well in search of Kagome and finds himself in the most unlikely, unbelievable role possible...Babysitting
1. Part 1

Author's Note: This is my first Inuyasha fic, so have mercy ^_^;; A two- piece fic (maybe three, depending how long it is when I finish); originally it was going to be just a one shot, but, er..it started getting a bit long. ^^; I wanted to explore the brotherly relationship between two characters who I feel don't interact enough in fics, since their relationship I think may be deeper than is given credit. Nope, no Fluffy in this one-this fic is, believe it or not, about Inuyasha and Souta. ^_^ With a few dashes of Inu/Kag thrown in because I'm a romantic sap. ^^; Ah yes, and otouto is Japanese for "little brother". Comments and critiques are more than welcome, as is criticism so long as it's constructive. ^^ Please? ^^;  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha is mine. *looks blankly at all the stares* What? He's mine! He's mine I tell you, mine, mine! You can't take him from me! Nooooooo! ;_; *grabs onto his leg and clings as the copyright police of Rumiko Takahashi--who, alright, did sort of create Inuyasha and all, and who of course has all the rights and is kind enough to let poor desperate fanfic authors use her characters in a non-profit way--arrive in their nice white coats to try to pry her off, shaking their heads sadly* Noooooooooooo! ;-;  
  
  
  
Part One ~ Otouto  
  
"She has a family, Inuyasha."  
  
Inuyasha looked up briefly, then scowled and turned his gaze back to the floor of Kaede's hut. He wanted to be alone right now. He had already vented the entire day, screaming and cussing like a full-blooded demon, and now as evening set in he just wanted to be alone to sulk. By himself, with his thoughts. About.her. Why did they think he put on such a show? To drive them away, grrr. And most got the hint and had backed off hours ago, leaving the young man to his quiet. But no, not damned Miroku.  
  
"What's that got to do with anything?" the hanyou mumbled finally.  
  
Miroku stoked the cook fire with the end of his staff. The glowing embers snapped and cracked as the flames came alive again, rewarding him with a warm, autumn light that set the shadows flickering around the two. He closed his eyes and took a calm sip of tea before responding. "She has a family. That's all. You should let her spend more time with them. They surely worry about her, and she surely worries about them, and it isn't fair to her when you put up such a fuss like this. She has something special." There was a significant pause, and when Miroku opened his eyes their look was distant with the memory of his own lost father. "Not all of us are so lucky."  
  
Inuyasha snorted, staring at the ground.that one had struck home. More than he'd let the monk know.  
  
"Huh."  
  
"You may not find much value in it, my friend," Miroku continued, "but I'm sure many long for the chance that Kagome has. Shippou lost his parents at such a young age, I myself have had my losses.besides Kagome, Sango and yourself are the only ones with any blood relatives left alive, if Kohaku can really be considered fully alive anymore. And your brother, ah." Inuyasha bristled as the monk trailed off, stung again.  
  
"My brother. My brother wants me to die," Inuyasha finished, blunt. Bitterly, he scuffed the floor with his claws, leaving long marks. "My parents left me with nothing but this cursed half-blood and a brother who who'd like to spill it, and I've known him far longer than I did them. The word 'brother' means nothing to me," he spat. "As does family. Not much of one, is it monk?"  
  
"I'm afraid not," Miroku agreed, his smile sad. The two were silent for several minutes, watching the flames glint off of the monk's staff and glow in the hanyou's white hair like firelight on snow. The houshi watched the golden-eyed demon's expressions carefully as they sat, reading the emotions beneath them. Anger first, then pain, then something unreadable, and anger again-always back to anger, Miroku mused. Perhaps anger made it easier to hide from himself.  
  
Inuyasha stood up at last and made for the door. "I'm bringing her back."  
  
  
  
The cold light of the moon was little comfort as Inuyasha ran through the forest, the trees bleached white like bones beneath it. In fact, it made things worse-an overwhelming swell of loneliness swept through him, driving him on through the silence. Inuyasha had finally found himself alone.  
  
He wished now that he wasn't.  
  
"Damn her," he said aloud, but without any real feeling behind it. He then sighed. Solitude had never bothered him before-at least that he'd admit to himself-but he had gotten so used to her presence, so used to her being there, comforting scents and gentle smiles and.and that warm aura she had about her. She was making him weak, damn it. Feeling weak made him angry out of sheer instinct; it was how he survived so long. But..she was so warm. It made up for something he had always lacked. One that he couldn't place, but that was like a clawed hand through his gut.  
  
A scowl set in his jaw again at that thought and the image it brought to mind. His brother. "No--damn that blasted monk." Damn him for bringing back those memories, making him think about them again. Damn him! Why couldn't the bastard just keep his mouth shut?  
  
The hanyou to his great displeasure found himself thinking as he ran not of the girl he was out to fetch, but of his miserable non-family. And foremost, his brother. His brother smiling whilst carving his flesh with his own claws and tasting his blood like it was honey on his fingertips. Mother and fathers memories were a chaotic mix of love mingled with grief and shame, shame at being what he was because of their union-two halves that did not make a whole, but a freak, a mutt, a half-breed.  
  
Sesshoumaru had made that quite clear. He still couldn't believe he had ever looked up to his monster of a brother, longing to mean something in his eyes, as if to find acceptance there would somehow fix something inside him.  
  
Because truth to be told, it wouldn't hurt as much if he didn't give a damn.  
  
As he reached the edge of the well he slowed, lightly jumping onto its edge and peering at the darkness within; sometimes he almost thought he could see a ripple across the surface.this well drew its water not from the ground, but from the streams of time and the centuries themselves. And so it waited patiently while he collected his thoughts. Kagome, he focused, Kagome. Must bring her back. Must not get sat. With that, he stepped off the side and landed in the well house.  
  
The scent of rain was the first thing he noticed, with a hint of lightning in the air. He could hear water pattering on the roof while he climbed out of the well, but threw the door open and marched into the rain anyway. He made straight for Kagome's window, as always, ignoring the front door-  
  
But unlike always, the door did not ignore him.  
  
"Inuyasha?" He turned, and he saw Kagome's mother on the front steps; she had seen him from the front window. Then, to his surprise, she smiled and ran over to him. "Inuyasha, thank goodness you're here. Kagome is studying at a friend's house; she's decided to spend the night there because of the sudden storm. I need you to watch Souta."  
  
He stared. "What?"  
  
"I need you to watch Souta," she repeated. "My father is arriving tonight on a flight from China; he was visiting an old friend who is ill-I have to pick him up at the airport and I'm not sure what time his plane will be in because of this weather. I have to leave now, but I can't leave Souta alone by himself during a storm. Keep an eye on him for me, please?"  
  
Inuyasha was dumbfounded. He stood there, mouth open. "But-"  
  
"He won't be any trouble, I promise," she said, her eyes pleading with him. "Please?"  
  
Many things went through his mind at that point. Part of him was stunned that she was really asking him this-leaving her son in the care of a demon! Why did she trust him that much? No one ever had.it was strange. At the same time, another part of him was cursing violently, and yet another part instinctively wanted to tell her to go find someone else, wench, he was only here to drag back Kagome-but somehow, he found that he couldn't. He tried, but the way she looked at him, so trusting and hopeful, with that motherly aura about her-  
  
--To his horror, he found himself nodding yes.  
  
Oh gods, what am I doing?!  
  
"Wonderful," Mrs. Higurashi beamed, like she'd already known his answer. Maybe she did. Before he could speak, she took him by the hand and lead the numb hanyou into the house. "There's some leftover oden in the fridge, and ramen in the cupboard if you get hungry-you like ramen, yes? Kagome said you did, she wanted me to buy extra for her next trip down the well. Souta will show you where it is."  
  
He followed her in a kind of daze, nodding as she explained a few household items without really understanding. He was starting to get nervous. What had he gotten himself into?  
  
"He never gets into any trouble," she added, "but he's afraid of storms and needs someone to keep him company, and just incase of an emergency. Here we are." She had led him upstairs to the door across from Kagome's; the scents of this corner of the house calmed him. A little. "Souta, I've brought a friend." A muffled 'come in' came through the door, and she opened and stepped in, motioning for Inuyasha to follow.  
  
To Inuyasha's surprise, Souta's room was much like Kagome's, but the shelves were lined with action figures and a few posters decorated the walls. Souta sat on his bed, focused intently on some sort of small device- a video game, Kagome had told him once. The little boy glanced up at them once as they entered, then turned back to the game.  
  
Then he looked up again and his face lit up eagerly.  
  
"Inuyasha!" he cried, jumping up with a huge grin and attaching himself to the dog-boys leg.  
  
"Good," Mrs. Higurashi nodded, satisfied. "I have to go pick up my father now; Souta, Inuyasha's staying here with you. You two behave now." Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest, but she had already grabbed an umbrella and headed downstairs and out the door. He stared after her in shock. He then looked down and blinked a few times at the young boy, unsure of what to do now. How had this happened? He had come to find Kagome, who wasn't even here, and had ended up to his dismay with her little brother instead. He felt like the village nursemaid. Rrrgh, hell! The Fates were laughing at him.  
  
"Wow," Souta said in a ecstatic daze, unable to believe what was happening. "Wow!"  
  
Inuyasha paused and shook his leg a few times experimentally. Frowning, he took a few steps and shook harder. Gah, the boy wouldn't let go! His ears lay back in panic. He shook it again. "Hey, kid, get off," he said gruffly.  
  
"Sure!" Souta said happily, letting go at last. He beamed up at Inuyasha. "This is great! This is so great, I can't believe you came here just to spend time with me. Are you really staying the whole night?"  
  
Inuyasha started to correct the boy, but stopped at the hopeful look on his face. He stared at him, caught off-guard by it. "Feh." The hanyou folded his arms with a scowl and turned his back on Souta. If he ignored him, maybe he'd go away. "Feh." There were several moments of silence, and the golden-eyed demon risked a glance over his shoulder. Souta still stood beaming up at him unfazed, with what could only be described as pure childlike awe. Inuyasha sighed inwardly. "Yeah, I'm staying the whole night."  
  
"Yeah!" Souta grinned. "Come on."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"Come on." Souta took him by the hand and pulled Inuyasha behind him into the hallway. Inuyasha followed him helplessly; defeated by that firm insistence only a child can muster.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"I want to show you something."  
  
"Not interested."  
  
"You will be." Souta smiled and led him into his mother's room; Inuyasha could tell by the scent. Her room had a soft, warm feeling, enhanced by the gentle glow of the lamplight. He found himself reminded of his own mother, and rather liked it.  
  
The little boy went for the closet and began rummaging about in it, pulling out several articles of clothing, boxes, and albums, but shaking his head and putting them back in. Finally, he withdrew a newer-looking package, and toted it over to his mother's bed.  
  
"Ah, here it is," he said, satisfied. He handed it to Inuyasha. "Here."  
  
"Hn?" The hanyou took it and sniffed it suspiciously, then found the opening and emptied its contents on the patchwork quilt. His heart caught.  
  
"These." he said breathlessly, "these are..."  
  
"Kagome's school photos," Souta finished with a strange smirk. Before him lay an array of pictures, all perfect in every detail-for once, modern technology held him in awe, for they were finer than any painting or carving, capturing for one heartbeat her smile, the turn of her head, the drape of her hair, the light in her eyes. Not only that, but she had dressed up for the occasion, in a soft but stunning blue. Had the picture only captured her sweet scent, it would have been like holding her in his hand.  
  
Inuyasha realized that he really was holding one of the pictures in his hand and had been staring at it for too long, and he quickly dropped it and looked up at the young boy, lifting an eyebrow. "Why are you showing me this?"  
  
Souta picked up the one he had been holding and put it back in his hand. "Because this one is yours."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Kagome got them in a few weeks ago; mom's been keeping them in here because she wants to give some to relatives. When they arrived though, Kagome said she wanted to give you one."  
  
Inuyasha was stunned, though he tried not to show it. Give one to him.why?  
  
"She did? Well why didn't she then?"  
  
"Because when you came to get her before, you fought with each other, and she figured you wouldn't want one anyway," Souta said glumly.  
  
"Feh," Inuyasha huffed, resorting to his natural gruffness to try and hide just how much this had flustered him, "what makes you think I do want one anyway? Why would I want a picture of that stupid wench?" He glanced at the photo again and felt a strange warm longing. He did want it. He wanted it badly-he could hold her in his hands and she'd smile up and he could pretend she was smiling for him.  
  
--Not that he'd ever, ever admit it, of course.  
  
"Feh," he repeated. Nngh, why was this little boy able to ruffle him so? Damn it, damn.  
  
Souta just smiled and pressed it in his hand. "Of course you don't," he agreed, lying.  
  
"Damn straight I don't." It may have been Souta's imagination, but the demons voice seemed a little less rough, a little softer. Neither of them said anything as Inuyasha quickly tucked it in his shirt.  
  
------------  
  
A/N: If you've actually made it this far, then thank you! ^_^ *bows before you all* Cut off a little roughly, I know, but it was the best spot I could find. ^^; Next chap, unless of course I've already scarred you all horribly and damaged you for life with my crappy writing, involves ice cream, a storm, and.make up. ^^ 


	2. Part 2

Author's Note: Thank you all so much who have replied, I'm glad someone liked it. ^_^;; I apologize for the grammar mistakes, most of them I think weren't in the original document-for some strange reason, when it uploaded it wouldn't carry the italics, so any thoughts became like misplaced first person..and even stranger, it turned all ellipsis (you know, the three dots) into a single period. Which just made it look like really poorly broken up sentences. O.o Sorry again, now that I know I'll work to avoid it. ^^;; Anyway, I apologize for this chapter taking so long, I ended up redoing it a couple of times until I was finally satisfied, had to change a lot of stuff. Plus, I wasn't able to write for awhile because I was busy, well, moving into college. ^_^;; This fic will probably be a few chapters longer than I'd originally intended, one or two more, but I've got it all planned out and for me it was the only way to pace it right. ^^ I must apologize again though because the makeup scene that I had planned for the start of this chapter, after all the shifting around, has been pushed to the start of the next chapter. Very very sorry, don't hurt me! ^_^;; *hides* But enough of my rambling.  
  
Oh, and "Ani" means "my older brother" (it's specifically used when talking to someone about your own brother, rather than brother in general).  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha is mi--*team of copyright police grab her and drag her off again, since, of course, Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi-who is wonderfully generous and lets poor worshipping fanfic authors use her characters!* Noooooo! ;-;  
  
  
  
Part Two ~ Ani  
  
The night purred low outside the house, soft but with a hint of threat and thunder close by. Somehow, the storm seemed to cut the small home and ancient shrine off from the rest of the world, isolating it as though nothing existed but the unusual people within. The rain had thickened, and Inuyasha lost himself for a moment in the sound of its heavy fall on the roof and the sweet tang of distant lightning, glad that he was spending this shower indoors.  
  
Although this wasn't quite what he'd intended when he came here..he wondered again what sort of vengeful deity had plotted this and huffed to himself.  
  
"I'm hungry," Souta said suddenly, turning off the television. Following their trip to his mother's room, the young boy had led Inuyasha on a tour of the house, stopping for a long time to explain the crazy picture box. Unfortunately, Inuyasha had lost track of the explanation awhile ago; not because he wasn't interested or wasn't smart, but because he wasn't quite sure what a VCR, VCD, DVD, and every other blasted three letter V-whatsits under the sun were. Crazy mortals!  
  
But it gave him a few minutes to collect himself and reflect on his strange situation, and for that he was grateful. He'd never admit it, he thought, but the boy really wasn't so bad. Souta's gift of the picture had startled Inuyasha, and for a moment left a sort of unspoken, unconscious bond between them. Unable to recognize it but sensing it all the same, it set him to quietly musing on the boy.  
  
The hanyou suddenly realized that Souta was looking at him, and he glowered. "What do you want?"  
  
"I'm hungry," Souta repeated plaintively, pointing at the clock. Inuyasha couldn't read it, but he could guess by the dark sky that it was late. "Can we get something to eat?"  
  
Shifting his weight, the hanyou pretended to pause and consider, as though he might turn it down, but the eager pricking of his ears betrayed him. Gods, he was starved. Just watching the little boy run about was tiring; he wasn't used to keeping an eye on children. Simple solutions like cuffing them on the head worked with kitsune, but not with humans.  
  
"Alright, alright," he finally relented, unable to prevent an inward chuckle as the young boy burst out in a huge grin and grabbed his hand again, towing the dog demon along into the kitchen. Souta had a grip that would cow grown men.  
  
"So how do you make ramen?" Inuyasha looked around somewhat helplessly at the stove, the sink, and the fridge, and folded his arms.  
  
"I'm not supposed to use the stove when mom's not home," Souta said uncomfortably while he pushed a chair over to the fridge. "Don't worry though, I've got something better. You'll love it!" The hanyou blinked.  
  
"What?" He growled a little, part disappointment and part irritation at being disappointed. "I want ramen."  
  
"You want this."  
  
"No," he said calmly and slowly, "I want ramen."  
  
"No," Souta said, equally slowly and deliberately, "you want this. Trust me." Climbing up onto the chair, he opened the freezer door and began to rummage through it, oblivious to the irate demon standing behind him. The air from the metal box smelt bitter and cold, and Inuyasha eyed it, doubtful that anything remotely edible could come out from there. No, he wanted the stuff Kagome made.  
  
A glance at the cupboard. Maybe he could make the ramen himself. All he needed was fire and water. He could--  
  
But Souta had apparently caught the glance, and decided to save his kitchen; not to mention that the little boy had the same determined streak as his sister. He wasn't giving up that easily. "It's Kagome's favorite," he added hopefully, drawing out his sister's name.  
  
Inuyasha stared hard at him. "I hate you," he said finally, slumping down in his chair in defeat.  
  
"I know," Souta said while bustling about like the perfect little host. The hanyou was so preoccupied with the lack of ramen, he somehow missed just how desperate to please him the boy appeared. Eyes falling at last on the object of his search, Souta grabbed it and stepped down off the chair. "But you'll love this. Here." He slid a pint of something across the kitchen table and Inuyasha caught it in one hand without breaking Souta's gaze. He stared a moment longer before glancing down and giving the thing a skeptical look. The container was much like that of ramen, but smelt radically different, not to mention was considerably.colder.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Ice cream." Souta shyly offered him a spoon, and the hanyou took it and examined it like it could have been some sort of weapon. "Cookie dough ice cream."  
  
"Hn." A tentative sniff. "Frozen milk. And..you eat this?"  
  
"Yeah. Just don't eat it too fast, it's really cold."  
  
"Why not just drink the milk then?"  
  
"Well.." Souta began, faltering. "It just wouldn't be ice cream then. Besides, it's more than just milk."  
  
"Feh." He nearly melted it with his stare alone before he finally removed the cover and sniffed again, pretending he wasn't interested. "So Kagome likes this?"  
  
"She loves it. Just give it a shot-please?"  
  
"Hn." Forgoing the spoon, he cautiously licked it right from the pint container, looking for all the world like an innocent puppy as his eyes widened in surprise and his ears perked. "It's cold!"  
  
Souta, who had been waiting eagerly for his response, looked crestfallen. "Sorry.."  
  
"It's GOOD!" The dog demon held it up like some sort of oversized ice cream cone and went at it ravenously, closing his eyes for a moment to savor it. Whatever the hell it was, it was damned incredible-sinfully sweet, cool and creamy. No wonder Kagome liked it.  
  
"Really?" The boy lit up happily, and sat down across the table with his own pint, relieved. "Ah..you're supposed to use a spoon though. And a bowl, actually."  
  
"Spoon? Keh!" he scoffed. He gave the aforementioned utensil a disdainful wave, his pint already half-gone without it. Modern silverware was not needed in ancient Japan. A minute later he added, "What good is this 'spoon' thing? Slows you down. Looks more like a tiny catapult than something to eat with."  
  
"It does?" Souta blinked and scooped up a big spoonful, holding it up with a puzzled expression.  
  
"Yeah," Inuyasha said around a mouthful of cookie dough, "just pull back on the top of it and let go."  
  
"Oh. Like-ahh!" He accidentally flicked it and sent the scoop halfway across the room, just missing the hanyou and passing over his shoulder to hit the counter instead. "Oops."  
  
"Hey! Be careful with that!" Grinning suddenly, he finally put his spoon to use and sent a scoop flying at Souta. The boy yelped and ducked.  
  
"No fair!" he protested, "you're trying to hit me!"  
  
"No fair," Inuyasha countered with a mischievous smirk, "you're ducking."  
  
He jumped agilely over the table to avoid Souta's next shot and hid behind a chair, sending another one his way. The little boy laughed and made a mad dash for the fridge, getting hit in the process-but sending Inuyasha scrambling when he rounded on him with two cans of whipped cream. The demon sent back a volley of ice cream and chocolate pudding cups from the cupboard, and the boy shielded himself with a frying pan and struck Inuyasha at last on the nose with a custard cup.  
  
And the war began.  
  
----------  
  
Twenty minutes and a week's worth of groceries later, the battle was over. Both parties had collapsed panting and laughing, out of ammo, and had finally stopped to stare at the destruction they had wrought. This wasn't good.  
  
"I think we're in trouble."  
  
Walls were smeared in peanut butter and jam; countertops covered in frozen yogurt shrapnel. The table was a mix of whipped cream, potato chips, and uncooked ramen-which Inuyasha had finally found-and the chairs were decked in jello. Which the hanyou found amusement to no end in.  
  
How on earth had this happened?  
  
Looking Souta over, Inuyasha found that the boy was also caked in food and frowned. The demon didn't know what had come over him, he had simply..let loose his inner child, he supposed. Even now he was giddy. A sort of exhilarating, irrational happiness-whoever thought there was such a thing as a fight that was fun, where no one got hurt but everyone got dirty? But now he felt a bit guilty--Souta was smiling sheepishly up at him with frosting smudged across his nose, an absolute mess. The room itself was bad enough, but having the boy get dirty too was somehow worse-wasn't he the older one? There to make sure nothing bad happened to the boy, even if it was just a bit of food?  
  
Or what if Souta got in trouble because of him?  
  
He felt..responsible. Not even just because Kagome's mother had trusted him to look after him. No, this was a simple faint feeling of responsibility for it all, one that tugged at him annoyingly but insistently. He couldn't place why it disturbed him so, but it did.  
  
"What are we going to do?" Souta asked worriedly.  
  
And in an uncanny swell of maternal instinct, he gently picked the boy up, hefted him under his arm, and carried him into the bathroom. "Let's get you cleaned up first."  
  
The hanyou made him change his clothes, taking off his own red shirt-his pants had somehow come out fine, but his shirt was a mess of maple syrup and rocky road-and sticking it all in the hamper. He then towed him over to the sink and began scrubbing Souta's nose vigorously with a washcloth.  
  
"Hn, you humans stain too easily," he complained, trying to get off a stubborn smudge of chocolate syrup on the boy's chin.  
  
"You have custard on your nose," Souta reminded helpfully. Inuyasha paused and blinked.  
  
"Oh." Washing that off quickly, he turned his attention back to the boy and made him give his face an extra rinse. "There. That should do it." He realized then that Souta was watching him strangely, studying him almost- making him self-conscious about his parent-like behavior. Immediately he scowled.  
  
"What?"  
  
Souta looked up at the hanyou and suddenly threw his arms around him in a great big hug. "You're the best, you know that?"  
  
Inuyasha stiffened and froze. For a moment he looked as though he was about to bolt like a skittish horse, but he was too startled by the sudden display of affection to move. He didn't know what to make of it.  
  
Hugs were a rare thing in the hanyous life, and this kind was the least familiar of all-it felt honest, genuine, sincere. He had his sister's gift for the spontaneous hug that shook your world, yet in a very different way than Kagome's soft embrace. Hers was a complex torrent of beautiful but painful longing; Souta's was simple and warm, but no less touching. It was unconditional.  
  
It confused the hell out of him.  
  
"Well, of course I am, isn't it obvious?" he said finally to cover his dishevelment, prying the boy off-carefully though. "Now you go get ready for bed."  
  
"But what about the kitchen?"  
  
"Hn..don't worry about it." His expression was reassuring. "I'll take care of it."  
  
Souta's smile lit up the room. "Okay!" He ran to the door, stopped and turned. "Thanks Inuyasha." And he disappeared down the hall towards his room.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," the hanyou grumbled aloud. Why on earth had he done that? Now he had to clean the whole kitchen all by himself! Argh! He was moving from nanny to housemaid, what next? This was far, far below him.  
  
Yet somehow, he didn't regret offering.  
  
It didn't take that long anyway, not nearly so long as it would have taken a mortal at least. It was the better part of an hour, maybe two, but by the time he was done most of the splattered food was gone and the kitchen was presentable again. A demon with a mop can work wonders.  
  
He stopped at last to lean on the mop handle, listening to the rain still draping itself in sheets across the world outside. The quiet house had the aura of a foxes' den; warm, dry, and cozy, filled with the scents of home. It was relaxing.  
  
..He was the best?  
  
The thought unwillingly rose up in his mind and he chewed his bottom lip, remembering the boy's confusing hug and even more confusing compliment. Souta thought he was the best? The best of what? Why?  
  
..Why had he never noticed the way Kagome's brother looked at him with such admiration before?  
  
He shook his head, baffled. The dog demon couldn't understand why Souta acted this way around him. So he breathed in and let the aroma of Kagome everywhere sooth his battle-worn nerves, and added to it was a sudden new appreciation for the other scents that flowed through the house. It did not take away from Kagome's scent, but rather added to it in subtle layers. It smelled like family, and he strangely liked having that scent associated with her.  
  
The hanyou froze. Her picture-her picture, he'd left it in his fire-mouse shirt, in the hamper. Letting the mop clatter to the floor, he bounded up the stairs in huge leaps, rushing into the bathroom without even bothering to turn on the light. He overturned the basket in his fervor, and desperately searched through the dirty laundry. Where was it?  
  
He pulled out his soft woven fur jacket and shook it, panicking when he felt for the picture and came up empty. Finally he found it lying atop one of Kagome's school shirts, where it had slipped out and fallen. He simply held it and heaved a sigh of relief.  
  
It was at that moment, kneeling amidst the rippling pool of moonlight that sifted through the window and the rain, that he was attacked.  
  
--------  
  
A/N: Thank you all again for reading! I promise that *next* chapter will be focused in some way around makeup (you'll see), else you can all beat me and steal my Inuyasha merchandise (which I fear more than the beating). Again, comments and constructive criticism are welcome. ^^ Updates should be faster now that I'm settled into college life.  
  
And as for the story having a waffy ending..er..yes. ^_^;; The focus of this fic is the developing brotherly relationship between Souta and Inuyasha, but everything I write has to have Inu/Kag fluff in it because I can't get enough of the stuff. ^___^ 


End file.
